Thursday, September 12, 2013

40 for 40: Celebrating Four Decades of GRACE September 12 – November 2, 2013 Opening Reception September 12, 6-9pm, free and open to the public

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) is pleased to present 40 for 40:
Celebrating Four Decades of GRACE, from September 12 through November
2, 2013. A retrospective exhibition marking GRACE’s 40th anniversary,
40 for 40 celebrates the organization’s continuous engagement with
contemporary art in the metro D.C. area since its founding in 1974. The
show will feature a selection of forty artists who have exhibited at
GRACE, or have been closely involved with the organization, over the
course of the past four decades.

Launching the 2013-14 exhibition
season and the Greater Reston Arts Center’s 40th year of operations, 40
for 40 will feature works in a broad range of media including painting,
drawing, sculpture, photography, glass, and ceramics, the exhibition
will celebrate the variety and quality of work that has been exhibited
at GRACE since its inception.

Speaking about the exhibition, Curator of
Exhibitions Holly Koons McCullough said, “This show highlights the
impact the Greater Reston Arts Center has had within the regional
artistic community. Some of the artists on view in 40 for 40 literally
founded the institution. Others had exhibitions here that would become
important milestones in their careers. Still others exhibited works that
have come to define GRACE’s unreserved embrace of contemporary art in
this region, in all its diversity and vigor.”

40 for 40 will
present works by some of the pioneers of the institution, including
Brenda Belfield, Judith Forst, Joan Kelly, and Connie Slack. These
artists held positions on GRACE’s staff and board, and helped to develop
the organization’s overarching mission of engaging and educating the
community in contemporary visual art.

Other works on view reflect
GRACE’s more recent exhibition history, such as a luminous Mylar
sculpture by Rebecca Kamen, a site-specific ceramic installation by
Elizabeth Kendall, and cerebral wood-based sculptures by Foon Sham and
Evan Reed. Together with works by the other noted contemporary artists
featured in 40 for 40, these pieces reflect the broad-minded,
progressive nature of GRACE’s exhibitions, particularly since the
institution relocated to its current site in Reston Town Center in 2006.

“We
are thrilled to be able to highlight the rich and vibrant history of
the Greater Reston Arts Center,” notes Executive Director Damian
Sinclair. “For over forty years the work of
this organization has been central to the cultural growth in our region
and we look forward to being a leader of the artistic community in the
next forty years.”

Most of the works in the exhibition are
available for sale, and many of the artists are donating 50% of sale
proceeds back to GRACE in recognition of the organization’s anniversary
and in support of its future.

Public Programs: Opening Reception Thursday, September 12, 6-9pm. Free and open to the public. 40th Anniversary Family Day 40 for 40 public celebration and family day Sunday, September 5, 2-5pm. Free and open to public.